Cucumber woes, rainy veg, digging and cherries

My poor little pickling cucumbers are no more--at least not at the allotment.  I planted out the last batch (the last batch still alive that is) in my kitchen garden at home, in the hopes they might live long enough to produce.  They're all only just growing their first leaf:  still pretty small.  I can only cross my fingers and hope for the best.

However, my four salad cucumbers previously planted (also at home) are still alive and have grown somewhat, despite the rain and somewhat chilly temps this past week;  I  have a last batch of these too, not yet planted out.  The forecast says it'll be a bit warmer this week, which they and many of my other summer plants need.  I say many, because I have some plants quite happy for it to be cool and rainy:  peas, lettuce, onions, beets, cabbage, kohlrabi.  At least something has been flourishing!  

I've begun harvesting the peas (mange tout aka snow peas), lettuce and onions so far.  As my direct sown beets have come up rather sparsely, I've started some more seed in modules to hopefully plant out by the end of the month--though I do have a couple early sown beets I have my eye on.  And the broad beans are so close--all covered in pods, but not quite big enough;  I need to pick these as soon as possible, so I can transplant my leeks in their bed.  Grow!

I spent every day last week digging out grass/weed roots from the allotment bed that I harvested garlic from;  I also mulched it heavily with wood chips and have begun replanting with cauliflowers.  If only I could plant leeks here--but I can't follow alliums with alliums, especially in the face of white rot.  Instead, it has enough space for some pak choi too, but I'm still undecided.  Do I risk it?  I have very little space at home any more, and it's getting a bit big for its little pots--like the leeks it needs transplanting very soon.  One more on the soon list:  fennel.

I netted my Stella cherry tree--though the net didn't quite cover all the branches;  and I covered some ripening fruits of my Kordia cherry tree with cloths like last year.  Kordia was simply dripping in blossom this spring and I had such high hopes, but no.  It's only got a few clusters of cherries here and there.  Stella, still not looking very healthy, also not many cherries.  However, my Morello cherry tree has a good amount of fruit for its size (a mini dwarf) and they are just about ready for picking;  though I netted it I don't think I quite got it bird proof, more like bird resistant--so I need to get in there quick.

Asparagus growing, garlic harvesting, losing more cucumbers, and eating some fruit

 

Asparagus (and a few weeds) to the front, artichoke and raspberry (and a lot of weeds) behind, May 2026

Check out my asparagus!  I'm trying to keep it weeded as well as possible, as that bindweed means business.  At the back are the transplanted artichokes, not expected to produce this year, plus the very weedy raspberry patch (lots of little berries on these).  I've got at least 10 cm of wood chips on this bed.  In fact, every bed that's mulched this way should have a minimum of 10 cm, but I'm trying for even more in places.  I haven't picked any spears this year, in order to let the crowns establish;  I may not pick any next year either, but we'll see.

This weekend my garlic came up somewhat in a rush, because of white rot.  I never had this disease until last year:  the bulbs start to go moldy and if left in storage will just disintegrate.  I won't be able to save any of my own garlic for replanting this year, as it all seems to have it;  instead I'm mincing it all up and freezing it, and will buy new bulbs in the autumn for replanting.  I'm a bit sad about this:  I've been self sufficient in garlic for many years now, but my winning streak is broken.  I'll probably plant the new cloves in planters instead of directly in the ground, in the hopes they'll avoid it next year.  It looks like my overwintered onions grown in containers are free from the infection, so that gives me a little hope.

The son, daughter and I did some work on the now empty garlic bed, digging out grass and weeds and raking out roots.  In fact, we had to stop before the bed was all clear as we completely filled our five composters!  Well, they weren't empty to begin with--most were about half full already, but still:  a lot of compost material.  I was able to spread a few wheelbarrows of wood chips on the edge of the bed, where it meets the next bed (previously mulched and growing peas and beetroot).  I'll carry on clearing the bed this week and will just have to make a pile until some of the older stuff compacts down.  Luckily this time of year that doesn't take long.  I may sow some turnip and beetroot seeds here, or possibly transplant fennel, or even pak choi though that's a risky idea:  slugs love love love pak choi, and it would probably survive better in the kitchen garden (except I don't have any room!).  It's a rather big bed, so I might even have space to do all of the above.

Of my sad cucumbers, all but one of the pickling types have bit the dust:  I think it was slugs.  Of the salad types, four--of five--are still growing.  I have a lot of little seedlings growing in trays from a very late sowing, but none are quite big enough to transplant.  To be honest, four salad cucumber plants is adequate--but I definitely need more pickling cucs.  They need to get a move on!  It seems like the potting compost may have been the culprit in the early demise of all the other cuc plants.

In other news, we've begun picking strawberries, gooseberries and redcurrants!  It seems early?  Maybe not.  We don't have many strawberry plants (all at home), but there are two bushes each of gooseberries and redcurrants, and all four are completely loaded.  I put some wire over the strawberry plants, and also netted my small Morello cherry tree, not quite ripe but close.  What's more, I thinned out the apples on my two trees:  no more than two fruits per cluster.  It hurts, but I did it;  I know from past experience that big clusters have little fruits and little clusters have big fruits.  I want big fruits.  

Plants and weeds at the allotment

I feel like I should be at the tipping point now:  moving from the planting phase to the harvesting phase.  But not quite yet.  It feels like summer:  lots of light, lots of heat, and for the last week no school (half term holiday but back at school this week).  However, the summer crops aren't producing yet and I'm not quite finished planting.  

I pulled back the insect mesh to weed cabbages and plant next year's purple sprouting broccoli at the allotment, May 2026

Of the sad little cucumbers I planted out, most seem to be still alive--maybe lost two out of around 20.  So far, that is.  Using different potting soil, I planted a tray each of the two varieties, pickling and salad, in the hopes they might grow more successfully than the first several attempts.  I can see a couple starting to emerge, but only time will tell if they'll fare any better.  

I spent a couple hours at the allotment over the weekend, planting out broccoli and squash and getting weeds out of my wood chip sheet mulch.  Also topping up the wood chips here and there.  We took the chickens back home a week ago as the forecast was for 30 C, much too hot to go without shade;  unlike at the allotment, our chicken yard at home is in full shade most of the day, so they've been keeping as cool as possible there instead.  In just one week of their being away, several squash seedlings have sprouted in their allotment yard.  They grew there last year too.

Zucs and squashes newly planted in plastic rings;  kohlrabi and cabbages under mesh;  me still digging at the allotment, May 2026

It's been fairly easy to loosen weeds out of the wood chips with a garden fork, no real digging required.  I'll need to keep on top of the weeding though:  I can re-sheet mulch on top of a bed of straw mulch, but I don't want to sheet mulch on top of wood chips as they don't break down quickly enough.  I will, however, keep topping up with wood chips, weeds or not--as long as the council keep providing them on site.